Colectivo Lapiztola, 10 años “gritando en paredes” lo que pasa en Oaxaca

OAXACA, Oaxaca, August 30, 2016 – Rosario Martínez, Roberto Vega, and Yankel Banderas form the Lapiztola collective. These three artists, who have made their mark on the streets of Oaxaca, now have a space at the Oaxaca Institute of Graphic Arts (IAGO) to exhibit their work. They are three artists who have dedicated their skills and energy to telling stories about their perspective on reality in Oaxaca through graphic art on the city's walls and buildings. But they have also suffered intolerance and a lack of understanding toward artistic creation born from a social movement. Their works have been erased and defaced as a way to silence them, though their work continues. Rosario Martínez explained that the collective originated in 2006, when the two graphic designers and the architect shared a concern about the violence during that year's conflict and combined their different styles to create their social art. She explained that the name of her collective, Lapiztola, is a play on the words "pencil" and "pistol," which has acquired a profound meaning, since in their mission to tell stories, their art is their "graphic weapon." The Lapiztola Collective's exhibition at IAGO Corte Aquí opened last Saturday, August 27.